Mike Woo’s election and the JACL Board’s redress and Japan debates

Vol. 100, No. 23, June 14, 1985. 8 pages. View this issue

Mike Woo became the first Asian American elected to the Los Angeles city council, defeating incumbent Peggy Stevenson in a runoff with 58% of the vote, and J.K. Yamamoto reported on the campaign. The front page also covered the JACL National Board meeting, where the Legislative Education Committee was formally activated for redress lobbying. Jane Kaihatsu wrote about the Board’s debate over JACL’s role in the LDP delegations to Japan, and the issue ran a longer follow-up on the budget shortfall. A front-page photo announced a Philadelphia exhibition, “The Japanese American Experience,” which included Ansel Adams photographs of Manzanar.

Inside are columns by Bill Hosokawa on elder care, Lia Shigemura on mail-order bride businesses, and Frank Sato on supporting the LEC. Readers also wrote in, including Sean Kientz, a Yonsei writer on his family’s experience of the incarceration. Other items covered free medical exams for A-bomb survivors, Tritia Toyota’s move to KCBS, and chapter news and scholarships.

What’s in this issue

National

• L.A. Gets 1st Asian Councilman, by J.K. Yamamoto, page 1. Mike Woo became the first Asian American elected to the Los Angeles city council, defeating incumbent Peggy Stevenson in a runoff election with 58% of the vote. The hard-fought campaign featured accusations over campaign contributions, and Woo received support from prominent Democrats including Sen. Alan Cranston.
• A-Bomb Survivors in U.S. to Receive Medical Exams, page 3. A team of six Japanese physicians returned to the West Coast to conduct free medical examinations for American hibakusha, atomic bomb survivors, in five cities including San Francisco. Kanji Kuramoto of the Committee of Atomic Bomb Survivors in the U.S. noted the U.S. government has never provided assistance to hibakusha, hoping the 40th anniversary will bring more attention and support.

JACL

• Board Formally Activates LEC, Argues About JACL Role in U.S.-Japan Relations, by Jane Kaihatsu, page 1. The JACL National Board met to officially activate the Legislative Education Committee effective June 1, enabling full-scale lobbying efforts for redress, while also debating fundraising goals of $300,000-$400,000 for 1985. The Board also had heated discussion about JACL’s role in sending delegations to Japan as part of LDP-sponsored trips and the selection process for Sansei delegates.
• Give LEC the Support It Deserves, by Frank Sato, page 5. JACL National President Frank Sato describes the formal activation of the Legislative Education Committee (LEC) following the Honolulu Convention mandate, with Dr. Kaz Mayeda chairing the redress educational program and Min Yasui chairing LEC’s legislative lobbying. Sato calls for continued volunteer and financial support to sustain the redress program’s momentum since the 1983 CWRIC report.
• Board Meeting: LDP Delegation Selection and Budget Woes Continue, page 7. The JACL Board decided to continue participating in LDP delegations to Japan with new selection criteria to be developed, after heated debate over the selection process for Sansei delegates. Secretary-Treasurer Gene Takamine reported the organization is $40,000 behind in income, with chapter redress pledges inconsistent and $80,000 borrowed from the Endowment Fund over two years, while the Board also approved rebating 20% of special life membership dues to chapters.

Arts & Entertainment

• Retirement Drama Receives Award, page 2. “Fools’ Dance,” a dramatic comedy co-produced by Karen Ishizuka and Robert Nakamura, received a national media award from the Retirement Research Foundation. The film, featuring Mako and Esther Rolle, explores life and death themes in a convalescent home setting and will air on PBS’s “Silk Screen” series this fall.

Community

• Southwest Omatsuri Slated for June 22, page 2. New Mexico JACL will sponsor Omatsuri, a Japanese festival, on June 22 as part of Albuquerque’s Summerfest program, featuring Japanese entertainment, food, arts and crafts. The event will also commemorate the 40th anniversary of the end of WWII internment, with Min Yasui giving the keynote address.
• New York Chapter Establishes Ruby Yoshino Schaar Achievement Award, page 2. New York JACL chapter announced the creation of the Ruby Yoshino Schaar Achievement Award in dramatic arts, honoring Schaar’s service to the chapter and her career as a singer and voice coach. The award will go to a playwright whose work tells the story of Japanese Americans, with the first award to be presented in 1986.
• Puyallup Valley Chapter Plans Graduation Banquet, page 2. Puyallup Valley chapter’s annual Graduation and Recognition Banquet is set for June 16 at the Executive Inn, chaired by Elsie Taniguchi. Members are asked to invite their fathers to the dinner as well.
• San Gabriel Valley Chapter Scholarships Announced, page 2. San Gabriel Valley chapter announced its scholarship recipients, including the Hide Kiyan Memorial and David Ito Memorial scholarships. Multiple students from area high schools received chapter scholarships.
• Toyota Joins KCBS, page 3. Newscaster Tritia Toyota, formerly of KNBC, will start as a news anchor on KCBS on June 17 after her contract’s 90-day non-compete clause expired. Toyota, co-founder and president of the Asian American Journalists Association, expressed excitement about returning to KCBS, where she began her broadcast career.

Commentary

• Tsukemono, page 4. A humorous personal essay describes the author’s attempt to make tsukemono (Japanese pickled vegetables) for a potluck, recalling childhood memories of his mother’s pickling and a skilled family friend’s homemade takana-tsukemono. The narrator details his trial-and-error process of preparing the dish using nappa, daikon, and other vegetables, with mixed but ultimately successful results.
• Defining ‘Special Interests’, by J.K. Yamamoto, page 4. This column critiques the Democratic Party’s elimination of the Asian Pacific Caucus and other minority caucuses, arguing the term “special interest group” is used unfairly to dismiss the concerns of women, minorities, and other groups. The author contends that if combined, these groups represent a majority of the population, and that corporations and the Pentagon are more deserving of the “special interest” label.
• From Weare to Dirty Harry — One Thing Leads to Another, by Kathy Tanaka, page 4. A ninth grader’s essay explores whether great American heroes exist today, tracing the evolution of heroism from Revolutionary War figures through Vietnam-era disillusionment to modern celebrity “heroes” like Clint Eastwood and Eddie Murphy. The essay argues that today’s individualistic, rule-breaking screen heroes reflect a troubling national character that could lead America astray in real-world crises like nuclear conflict.
• A Community Need, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. This column examines the growing need for ethnic-specific elder care facilities in Japanese American communities, citing examples in Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Denver, and Hayward. Hosokawa explains that language, dietary, and cultural comfort needs drive demand for such facilities as the Nisei generation ages into retirement.
• Don’t Go by Numbers, by Mark Ishimatsu, page 5. A letter to the editor responds to a previous article on the “model minority” concept, arguing that Japanese Americans’ overrepresentation in high-status areas means their interests don’t always align with other minority groups’ numerically-driven concerns. The author argues support for social issues should not be based solely on numerical commonality with other minority groups.
• Stand Up for Rights, by Sean Kientz, page 5. A Yonsei writer reflects on his family’s suffering during WWII internment, including his great-grandmother’s death from cancer without proper medical care in a camp. He urges fellow Japanese Americans to actively push for redress and ensure that school curricula teach about the internment’s civil rights violations.
• An Exploitative Business, by Lia Shigemura, page 5. This column discusses Philippine Parliament member Orlando Mercado’s outrage at mail-order bride companies exploiting Filipino women by marketing them to foreign men as ideal spouses. JACL’s national women’s concerns committee chair Irene Hirano condemned these businesses for objectifying Asian women and distorting public perception.

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